Thanks to the uncontrollable nature of the internet it’s not often that we’re caught by surprise here at WiiWare World – we usually know well in advance about potential titles because it’s almost impossible for Nintendo to keep news from filtering out of its fortress-like HQ.

However, this week we’ve been caught with our pants down as Nintendo has made Gammick Entertainment’s Family & Friends Party available – a title that we’d never even heard of until today!

Here’s the official press release for your delectation:

Family & Friends Party (Gammick Entertainment, 1-8 players, Rated E for Everyone, 1,000 Wii Points): Have fun with all your friends and family as you take on some very exciting challenges. This is an interactive board game for as many as eight players of all ages. The goal is to be the first to complete a series of challenges. During each turn, a challenge will be played by one or two players per team depending on the type of challenge you’ve been given. (Other players on your team can still help and support you). There are six different “Single” challenges that must be played cooperatively by members of the same team. Family & Friends Party can also suggest “Versus” challenges, which must be played competitively by all teams at the same time.

Damien has over a decade of professional writing experience under his belt, as well as a repulsively hairy belly. Rumours that he turned down a role in The Hobbit to work on Nintendo Life are, to the best of our knowledge, completely and utterly unfounded.

"This is an interactive board game in which players earn points and progress through levels by participating in a series of challenging mini-games. Mini-games include trivia, math and spelling, puzzles, hidden word challenges, and memory games."

We got the crappy little screenshots you see today directly from Nintendo!Do you know why Nintendo feel the need to give websites postcard-sized screenshots. I know they use the same screenshots on the Wii shop but to make these screenshots they would need proper ones.

To be honest I like to think of this update as vengence for the people who laughed at Europes update on Friday. The biting question for me is; Will this title join the 18 out in America but not coming to Europe?

Am I the only one who thinks that dude in the screenshot is creepy? Like, kill you in your sleep creepy?

@KS8: If you (or anyone, for that matter) want a board game type Wii game, pick up Dokapon Kingdom. That game is REALLY fun, it's a board game with RPG elements, and a whole lot of other fun and hilarious stuff. I still need to buy my own copy...

@BahamutZEROI noticed that two the first time I was reading it, I just forgot to comment on it. I wonder if this is supposed to be a spoof of some sort... nah, that's wishful thinking, just more shovelware.

What a disappointment, I really was expecting something interesting today , I don't care about this game, I'm a lone player, and I bet this ain't gonna be the best party game anyway; seriously 3 + 1? This is as casual as any game can get .

I seem to recall seeing this on the PEGI rating list at one point, but on a second glance, it doesn't appear to be there. So the real question is this: am I going crazy? Thoughts and opinions appreciated

What in the hell is this?!!! I was NOT expecting to find this when I logged on. It looks like we have a very very good contender for worst WiiWare game of all time. I don't think I've ever been this disappointed since WiiWare launched. This better not ever make the top 20 list or we are all doomed.

You guys are too quick judging a book by it's cover, just wait till the review confirms this is AAA, specially since it's coming from the awesome Spanish developer Gammick Entertainment. They are publishing Little Red Riding Hood's Zombie BBQ here in Europe.(goes back to play pong toss)

@Corbie: If Dracula comes back for every Castlevania, why cant the number 7?

"Sevenvania: Play as Corbie Dillard as you trek through his awsome house, beating high scores on very expensive arcade machines, in an attempt to beat Seven, his best friend turned to the dark side after repeat use."

I down loaded this because I play a lot of the party games and it is pretty average. The graphics, music and overall presentation are bland and generic. This game can be played with two to eight players, so as stated there is no single player here. However, this is a party game, so I don't think the lack of a single player option is a deal breaker.

This game has a two vs the computer option, a three player option and then a team based option for up to four players per team. In the team mode, each team takes a turn and then every other turn the teams battle it out at the same time. There are six activities (from what I remember) ranging from word based games to pictionary and shooting games. The games play okay but they are not going to blow anyone away. When a team succeeds at an activity, they win coins and aquire the badge for that accomplished game. First team to complete all of the activities first, wins the game. The coins come into play in that you can buy a badge out right for a large amount of your coins, or pick a game to play where you still need a badge for a lesser amount of coins. This works pretty well and gives a purpose for the coin collecting.

Miis are supported in this game which is a nice feature or you can use the generic characters that are already available. Overall it is a pretty average game but if you like party games, you might have some fun with it. I didn't see an option to play the games individually in a practice or quick play setting. This is a little disappointing as a few of the games are fun and a quick play option would add some replay to the package.

It does seem that our last update was too good to be true. Now we get to (Start to) pay for it. Tactics is probably pretty good if you like the genre and this game probably just isn't good ,especially costing 1000. If it was 500, it'd be hard to fail completely at being an average Mario Party rip-off for the family to play.

@Pablo: Glad you're enjoying it even a little. What else do you have to say for it? Worth 1,000? How's the board set up? What are some issues you have? What are some things the game does right? Are the activites fun?

TBH, I would LOVE to play the Pictionary parts. How are those since we're on the subject? Apparently the others have to turn around while the other team guesses the object. Doesn't sound that bad at all. I'm just wondering how the execution is and if I should wait for a better rendition of these types of games (that I admittedly love).

@gameking23: SO WAS I!! lol. I was disappointed 2 weeks in a row, now. Oh well. Let's hope for next week.

@KS8-For the most part all of the games work well and that is why I am surprised that there doesn't seem to be any quick or free play mode to play just the games you like.

There is no board like in the Mario Party games. There is a crane that picks games at random and that is the game type that your team will play. This is where the coins come into play, as they allow you the ability to pick a game that you need instead of a random one.

The Pictionary type game works fine but as with all of the other games, they are set up in quick bursts, so you never fill like you get enough time with the games that you like. I can't say that there was a game that I hated, as I like word, drawing and shooting games.

My problem with the game is the very low production values. I don't expect a work of art for 1000 points but this game feels cheap, through and through. If you love party games, have people to play the game with and can get past the generic look of this game, you can have some fun here. As to whether it is worth a 1000 points or not, I still don't know.

EDIT:I should mention that although this may look like a kids game, a good portion of the questions would be too hard for younger children. There are math questions that have very simple solutions, however the goal of that game is to get the answer before the other team. Also, the word games can be a little tricky, such as spelling a word backwards, or guessing a word based on a simple clue. The Simon Says and Duck Shooting are two games that pretty much anyone can do though.

just like i posted last week about these games ,so today doesn't surprise me. oh well we got a good game this month,maybe we shouldn't complain. this casual craze is taking over though, and i seriously doubt that we will ever get the awesome-ness that japan's Wiiware has. wouldn't it be nice though to have more must have exclusives. i dont need a review to know not to buy this. actually i hope no one buys this game so nintendo will stop aiming this crap our way...